The Albert Social Club, Fleet, 21st August

A photo of the band, post gig at the Albert Social Club, Fleet. A very nice club with good stage area, large dance floor with several bars. The band went down very well and have been asked to make a return visit soon.

The Rowbarge, Guildford, August the 14th

This was the band's first visit to the Rowbarge on the River Wey, Guildford on Saturday the 14th August. Mark (in the shorts) and Chrissie, the landlords, made us feel very welcome and once we had sorted out the in house PA problems and my temperamental Marshall amp (now consigned to the scrap heap) we had a very good gig. Quite a small stage area, if we had gone out as our normal five piece we would have struggled, as it was we played as a four piece with Patrick Quirke depping on bass. Iain our trusty keyboard player is away on holiday in Cornwall at the moment but will be back for next weekend's gigs. A kind young lady on the tow path took these photos just before the gig, if that's you please contact me and I'll put your name on the photo credits and buy you a pint of Guinness for your trouble! We're back on the 16th October for a return gig.

The Propaganda Music Canteen,12th August

We were called out at very short notice to do a gig on the 12th August at the Propaganda bar in Andover. We've played at the Propaganda Bar in Fleet so were glad to help them out. A very large bar area with a very small playing space which played havoc with the PA all evening. Tommy O'Donnell our regular drummer had to pull out of the gig at the last minute due to work commitments but managed to rope in Jim Russell (pictured above with Patrick Quirke) at very short notice (two hours). Jim's an excellent drummer and slotted in really well with the band. His playing credits are quite impressive too including playing with The Human League, Paul Young's Los Pacaminos, Junior Walker, Peter Green, Hank Wangford, the list goes on. So many thanks to Jim for helping us out and we look forward to seeing him again.

Fluke at the Poyntz Arms, East Molesey, 6th August

Fluke will be playing at the Poyntz Arms, 85, Walton Road, East Molesey on Friday 6th August. Always a good gig. 9 start.

Landlords and gig cancellations

Yet again the band have become a victim of a disorganised and unthinking landlord. Our gig at the The Old House At Home in Dorking tonight (August 1st) has been cancelled at very short notice. I only found out that the gig wasn't happening because I made a courtesy call to the pub this afternoon to let them know what time we would be arriving and where we would be setting up. A new landlord had taken over the pub, unbeknown to us, and said he knew nothing of the booking, and also seemed not to care. The previous landlord had not thought to inform him of the gig bookings in the diary. I had left dated posters for the gig with the landlord on our previous gig there at the end of June. This seems to be becoming quite a regular occurrence. Pub landlords seem to be changing with such frequency that little or no thought is given to the bands that may have bookings. If I had been informed earlier I probably could have arranged another gig booking at a different venue. The lesson to be learnt: always ring up well in advance to confirm the gig booking and don't assume that landlords are as well organised as you are.